Ok, we’re calling it: the kitchen is officially done!
Well, mostly done. A few small tasks remain before everything is perfectly finished, including:
- adding decorative molding to the back of the peninsula
- installing a message center or chalkboard on the side of the pantry
- finishing the last floor transitions and a small rectangle of fireplace tile
- replacing the broken light near the fireplace, likely with a spotlight to wash down the fireplace wall
- adding a window treatment (we’re thinking a colorful Roman shade) over the sink
We also dream of refinishing the surrounding oak floors to match the dark mocha cork in the kitchen so the flow between rooms feels seamless, but that’s a longer-term project. The major work and most of the smaller details are complete, and it’s amazing to see how much this room has transformed over the last five months. We began chipping away at this renovation in October, and the progress has been remarkable.
To help with perspective, the dark paneled kitchen we lived with for almost a year while planning and saving now feels like a distant memory. From many angles the room hardly looks like the same space anymore. We opened up a large doorway into the dining room to create better flow, and that change alone made a huge difference.
There are still items on counters and shelves that will evolve as we style the room, and temporary rugs from our previous house are only in place for a few photos. We plan to choose new rugs to better define areas and improve comfort underfoot.
We debated whether to spray-paint the metal bar stools a bold color or oil-rubbed bronze, but with the new dark floor the silver finish complements the stainless appliances and provides good balance. For now we’ll live with them and decide on a change later.
One small design tweak we’re seriously considering is widening the neck of the range hood after a reader sent a photoshopped example showing how that change would look. It’s a detail we may pursue in the future to further refine the hood’s proportions.
This renovation was much more hands-on than our first kitchen remodel. Over the years we learned new skills and became more comfortable tackling projects ourselves, which saved money and let us personalize the result. Highlights of the work we did ourselves include drywalling and trim around the new opening to the dining room, relocating the fridge, pantry, and stove to improve the work triangle, refinishing our original cabinets, and installing cork flooring and penny tile backsplash ourselves.
We also reused and repurposed items to keep costs down: reclaimed base cabinets from a local ReStore created the peninsula, our original sink and faucet were refinished and reused, and we scored a range hood and other fixtures secondhand. We bought on-sale appliances, built a cabinet to frame the fridge, crafted shelving and a range hood cover, and DIYed most of the installations and finish work.
Below is a concise budget summary of the completed work:
- New cork floor and underlayment (including laundry room): $848
- Stainless appliances (after discounts and adjustments): $2,129
- Opening the doorway into the dining room (contractor plus materials/finish): $790
- Additional base cabinets from a ReStore for the peninsula: $88
- New pendants over the island and sink: $149
- Cabinet built around the fridge: $90
- Electrical work by local professionals: $711
- Wood filler, primer, and paint for cabinets: $69
- Range hood purchased used: $60
- Wood and brackets to hang and frame the hood: $115
- Wood, brackets, and materials for shelves: $141
- Corian counters (Glacier White): $1,700
- Cabinet hardware and hinges: $173
- Backsplash (penny tile): $280
- Four industrial lab stools: $168
- Miscellaneous supplies (fasteners, grout, sealer, molding, etc.): $194
- Items resold to offset costs (old appliances, furniture, granite): -$750
- Total spent: $6,955
This total is a fraction of what a fully outsourced renovation of this scale might cost. Our kitchen is 24′ x 12′, and a similar professional project with new custom cabinets, all-new materials, and full demolition could easily approach $30,000. We originally budgeted $10,000, so staying well below that made us very happy.
The project required time and dedication: we began in October and worked mostly evenings and weekends, totaling roughly 155 hours over five months. If you have a day job, tackling a major remodel in manageable chunks—one small project at a time—can get the job done without overwhelming your daily life.
Our best practical tips: maintain as many working appliances as possible while you renovate, break the overall project into bite-sized tasks, and accept that living through a renovation is temporary and worth the end result. Big thanks to our kids for being troopers—sleeping through the noise and even helping with simple measuring tasks.
Who else is tackling a kitchen renovation? If you’ve taken a hands-on approach, share what worked for you—budgeting tips, time management strategies, and DIY successes can help others planning their own remodels.